Contents

A Submission Request

BANZINE!- A "normal" zine ("R" rating max) dealing primarily with DOCTOR WHO, BLAKES 7, and BUCKAROO BANZAI, but I'll consider other genres as well. Anticipated publication date is Summer/Fall 1989. I'm looking for stories and art that are unusual, slightly off the beaten track. Angst, humor, Delta-bashing-you name it, I want it! When submitting stories and art, please send copies, not originals, as we all know what lurks within the bowels of the U.S. Postal Service. I also ask that all written submissions be typed-my wife, who is an RN, can read anyone's handwriting, but I am not so fortunate.

Issue 1

front cover of issue #1, Laura Virgil.

back cover of issue #1, Holly Hutchison. From a discussion in 2016: "Back cover to Banzine! #1, a multi-media (Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and Buckaroo Banzai primarily) fanzine. Art is by Holly Hutchison. And yes, the zine does contain a post “City at the Edge of the World” story. This is not for that story, it was obviously done just for the hell of it. And now I want a James Bondian AU for Blake’s 7. Thanks, fanzines! Here’s the front cover, just because:" "AMAZING Good gracious, Holly Hutchison. That takes one back. She and her circle wrote reams of crossover Doctor Who/Blake’s 7/everything fic on the “Starbucket” forum of the Bryn Mawr College VAX bbs in 1987-1990, not to mention all her Pern and Elfquest fanart.... I was a lowly frosh when Holly was a senior, so I looked up to her but didn’t break into the mysterious world of zines apart from those she and the other older fans left in the dorm living room or loaned out (I remember Jabberwocky, Space Oddity for Blake’s 7 and a Sarek/Amanda anthology edited by Jean Lorrah.) I’d never seen a zine before!" [1]

Cleaning Up After Gilbert by Lisa S. (A team of Cavaliers heads down to Jamaica to assist in relief efforts after a hurricane. "Trouble is, the black market got tehre first.") (Buckaroo Banzai)

Past Reality by Steven Veverka ("An unknown entity on the TARDIS is triggering the regeneration sequence for the Doctor -- but in reverse. Can the Doctors and Mel stop the creature before it is too late?") (Doctor Who)

Chasing Shadows by Eric Hoffman ("Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? No, no -- BESIDES him! The Doctor is forced to "fill in" for a friend when Sarah Jane is kidnapped.") (Doctor Who)

After the Reunion by Patricia Dunn ("A post "Five-Doctors" story finds Sarah with two unexpected guests—the Third and Fourth Doctor.") (Doctor Who)

A Time to Grieve, and A Time to Celebrate by Julie "Stew" Bozza (Rawhide's thoughts are on Buckaroo and his recent loss during the wedding of Flyboy and Mrs. Johnson.) (Buckaroo Banzai)

State of Siege by Jeff Morris (Hanoi Xan strikes back. Hard. Hanoi Xan has had enough of Buckaroo Banzi and the Hong Kong Cavaliers.") (Buckaroo Banzai)

Supper and Be Silent by Julie Nowak ("A "Black and White Blake's" story where Avon is cured of his many allergies and decides to find out what he's missed out on all these years."") (Blake's 7)

The Competition by Jeff Morris ("Myral is invited to a large festival to compete for a prize. Once there, he and Pari Dro meet up with a stranger that could be the death of both of them.") (Kill the Dead, was to have been in Ghyste Mortua)

Sacrifice by William Ader ("Cally is dying of a rare disease, and LIBERATOR must race against time to reach the only planet with a cure. But Servalan has taken control of the ship.") (Blake's 7)

What Hours Were Thine and Mine? by M. J. Dolan ("Blake is injured and separated from Avon during a "routine" meeting with a rebel cell, and is rescued by a girl who knows nothing of rebellions but plenty about survival.") (Blake's 7)

The Last Regeneration by C.K. Smith ("The Doctor's final persona develops a decidedly different (but familiar) outlook on his remaining life.") (Blake's 7/Doctor Who)

Bust the Dead by Kim Wigmore ("The Real Ghostbusters discover a bizarre musical instrument seething with paranormal energy, and find themselves tossed back in time to meet both the instrument's owner and his "ghostly" partner.") (Kill the Dead/Real Ghostbusters, was to have been in Ghyste Mortua)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

Thanks so much for my contributor's copy of BANZINE! #1. I'm glad that little story finally found a home in your professional-looking fanzine. Emily Penfield's art set it off very well—my thanks to her, too.

I enjoyed the mixture of genres and fandoms, which was fairly well balanced. It was wonderful to see the Kill the Dead material from the ill-fated "Ghyste Mortua". "What Hours Were Thine and Mine" and "A Choice Cut of Fool" were my favorites among the serious B7 stories, while "Supper and Be Silent" takes the cake (so to speak) for the humorous entry. I'm a Vila Restal fan, nearly as much as an Avon one, and Kathy Hintze's story provided an excellent insight into the thief and his survival mechanism.

For the DW stories, Steven Veverka's serial "The Shadows of Time" seems to be off to a good start. He has the characters of the seven Doctors down well, and writes competent action-adventure. It will be interesting to see where he's going next with it. Eric's "Chasing Shadows" was familiar to me from Lt's Log, of course, but it was nice to see it here, with Leah Rosenthal's exciting art for it.

Of the BANZAI material, I liked "State of Siege" the best—probably because I'm so well -acquainted with your cast of Banzai Institute characters from the Corey Chronicles. Also, I like vampires—to a degree, that is.

For Kill the Dead, your story "The competition" was great—captured the enigma of Dro and the recklessness of Myal and used them in an intriguing plot. Kim McCarthy's "Snowbank" was excellent, too, on a very similar theme. "Bust the Dead" was played for laughs, of course, and worked well enough. I especially enjoyed Pari Dro's raised eyebrow at the ghost trap!

Well, thanks once more, and the best of luck on BANZINE #2 and beyond!

[The editor ads: So far as I know, Annie Wortham and I are the only ones to use any of the "Ghyste Mortua" material, and from the stuff I've seen firsthand and in her own zines, it's a terrible pity Deb decided against going with it. It would have been a classic. On the other hand, it gave me some good material to publish...] [2]

I thought I'd drop you a line telling you how much I enjoyed BANZINE. I liked an the BB stories, my favorite had to be "State of Siege". I enjoy a good hurt/comfort story and 1 love action and this story had plenty of both. I recognized Little Red.
I also liked "A Time to Grieve and a Time to Celebrate", for such a short story it established a tone quickly and established its goal. Oh, about both stories, am I correct in assuming that Xan was Buckaroo's arch-rival, who killed his wife, Peggy? I remember you mentioning something at Brits about Peggy.

I didn't read any of the Kill the Dead stories, a friend threatened me not to until I had read the book, especially "Bust the Dead". She did say that "Bust the Dead" was her favorite story in the zine.

I"m not very familiar with "The Shadow" but I liked "Chasing Shadows", especially the 30's atmosphere- The story was a really good read. And Leah's art is fantastic.
I really, really liked "Past Reality: The Shadows of Time", each form of the Doctor was completely in character. More Please! I also really liked the frontspiece art. The art on page 39 was also good, it captures movement and Davison well. I would really like to read more Sylvester McCoy stories. I just saw "Dragonfire" and I really liked it, and Ace has great potential as a companion.

"Supper and Be Silent" was wonderful, finally a parody universe fit to compete with Bizarro Seven, tho' I'm sure I will still want to read more of Leah and Annie's stories.

"A Choice Cut of Fool"; neat, neat story. At first, I was kinda bored with this since it seemed like a re-hash of "City...", but the monster, altho' not completely original, did provide for some excellent hurt/comfort and a glance into Avon's real character. It was also nice to see Cally actually being used effectively in a story.

Finally, Karen River's art for "State of Siege" was excellent. Boy, can that woman draw! [3]

1) "Chasing Shadows": Excellent, excellent! I have nothing but praise for this story. The Doctor, Sarah, and Cranston were handled true to form—I particularly enjoyed the scene where the Doctor fouls up Lament's line about crime. I looK forward to more stories concerning the Doctor & the Shadow.

2) "Past Reality": I lilted this story because it had all of the Doctors' lives in it. The only thing I didn't lite was that I didn't see EN0U3H of the Doctors. Of course, this is pure opinion, but it would have been nice to stay awhile with a Doctor and not be given a "whirlwind tour".

3) "A Choice Cut of Fool": A particularly sensitive story. I felt my heart going out to Vila {and he is actually my least favorite character—sorry, Vila, I don't want you panting at my door). Cally was particularly well handled in this story, arguing with Avon, seeing to Vila's care. I enjoyed Avon's sense of humor, especially at the end when he teased Vila about the parasite.

4) "Bust the Dead: One of the best Real Ghostbusters stories in a long time. It was so reminiscent of the first season of the TV show. The characters of Myal and Pari Dro are not familiar to me, but I enjoyed their bantering/ and I particularly liked the interplay between Pari and Myal when they were competing for Janine's affections. I laughed at the end, when Myal asked for the fee for getting rid of the demons—he and Peter could be clones!

5) "Sacrifice": Hmmm? Would Avon really sacrifice his position on Liberator, even to get rid of Servalan? I wonder...

6) "The Last Regeneration"" Oh, come on! The Doctor as Blake, regenerating as Avon? Get real! Willis was okay, though.

7) "After the Reunion": Not bad, not bad. I wonder how history would have been affected had Sarah told the Third Doctor about his death? This should be followed up! It could be interesting...

And now the art: Emily Penfield's opening page was spectacular! I loved the shocked expressions and the dialogue between the sixth Doctor and Peri. Leah Rosenthal's drawing of Sarah & the Doctor in "Chasing Shadows" was quite good. Maybe she could do caricatures of Doctor Who's characters, like she does with B7?

Well, I know the letter is long, but hopefully my criticisms will be taken to heart.[4]

Hi! I just got BANZINE about 3 days ago and I've already read it 7 times. I really liked the Laura Virgil cover, even though I have to admit she does a better Avon than Buckaroo. Oh well, a nice cover nonetheless.

The inside front cover was even better—Emily Penfield has a nasty, wicked sense of humor. I loved it!

I also liked "Chasing Shadows". My dad saw Leah's picture, and I really had to threaten GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm) to get it back. Even then I had to put up with "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" announced every 5 minutes for the next 3 hours. I liked the story. Sarah is being Sarah and the Doctor is also being very doctorish, and of course he would get the saying wrong.

"Cleaning Up after Gilbert"—What can I say? It is my story and I loved Betty's art. She got Big Bear down to a "T" and I loved her Perfect Tommy. Yum! I really couldn't tell who the last drawing was for a while. I thought it was Maritta at first, and then I realized it was male and must be Baron Samedi. Good job!

"What Hours Were Thine and Mine"—Good. Very good, in fact except for one nit or two, which really didn't stare out at me. Extremely enjoyable story.

"You said it was an Emergency!" WICKED!

"Past Reality"—Since I never got to see the Seventh Doctor or Mel, I can't make any remarks on characterization. But I enjoyed all the other Doctors and I can't wait to see part 2.

"The Competition"—Very good! I always wondered what would happen if Pari himself ran into a ghost killer. Very effective use of tension, as I always wondered what would happen. Also, a nice ending to wrap it all up. This could have been published pro.
"A Time to Grieve and a Time to Celebrate"—EUNICE?! Aggh! What a name! But a well thought out story with good characterization.

"Supper and Be Silent"—"Waddles" Avon? HA HA HA HA AH....

"Snowbank"—Loved it! A reaffirmation of trust that had me smiling! Aw!

"A Choice Cut of Fool"—Let's do some Vila-bashing, shall we? Still, an interesting idea, sort of a psychic vampire that feeds on depression. Neat.

"Bust the Dead"—Funniest story in the entire zine. It's just like one of the animated shows. I bet this gives them an idea or two...

"State of Siege"—And now, on to Tommy-bashing. C'mon, Jeff, say it. You did it just because your wife likes him, am I getting warm? Nab, just kidding. I liked it. Every character got some attention (alas, poor Bird—we knew him not well) and a chance to shine. I liked Nightowl and Dallas' edition of "Brunswick Vice" and Mrs. Johnson's "Ballet w/Sword #1". Just how long will it take to rebuild, anyway? Also, putting "The Banzai institute Song" after your story was sheer genius. It symbolizes their spirit which never dies, and made a fitting epilogue to all that had gone on.

"After the Reunion"—Good, but another nit, one I have to complain of. The Doctor got the Blue crystal from Metabelis in "The Green Death", at which point he hadn't even met Sarah. So this story could never have really been. If she had changed the reference, like "going to see an "K'arpo, an old friend" or some such, it would have been better. Otherwise fine, with the ending on a sad note, as we know the Fourth Doctor is also going to his death.

"Sacrifice"—Nice, with a very Avonish solution. Enjoyable reading.
"The Last Regeneration"—Nah!

IBC and Back Cover excellent as usual. "License to Steal" my favorite.

First off, let me congratulate you on a fine job in editing BAN2INE! #1. I really enjoyed your zine. And your Kill the Dead story (even though I read it before I read the novel). And I liked the overall look of the zine—the artwork was very good (especially Leah Rosenthal's "Doctor, Sarah Jane, and the Shadow"). I also enjoyed the Banzai vampire story and the Vila story.[6]

Dr. Who, Blakes 7, Buckaroo Banzai, Real Ghostbusters, Kill the Dead...what do these fandoms have in common? They have Jeff Morris and his two multimedia zines. NAUGHTY BITS is "adult", BANZINE isn't. Both zines have well-written stories, a couple of poems that I, a fan poemophobe, thought were pretty good, and excellent art {although not a lot of it). I particularly thought that BANZINE's B7 "James Bond" back cover was a gas—Vila Restal in "License to Steal".

KtD (BANZINE) These pieces were earmarked for the folded "Ghyste Mortua"; I'm glad Jeff published them. I liked Jeff's story "The Competition" although Pari Dro's emotions and motivations seemed somewhat unresolved at the end; I wish he'd included more explanation. Wigmore's "Bust the Dead" (the Ghostbusters meet the ghostkiller) was hilarious.

RGB: I first discovered the Real Ghostbusters in these zines—and almost immediately became a fanatic. (So it's all your fault, Jeff!) Fan fiction rises or falls on its dialogue, and Kim Wigmore's story was spot-on, both funny and true to the series.
BB: There are a number of Buckaroo Banzai stories in both zines, but I'm afraid they did not make me a Banzai fan. I've always felt that it's harder to write a good serious treatment of a satire than to do a send-up of a melodrama. (It is for me, anyway.) I liked the movie, but it had a particularly loony flavor that is very difficult to recapture. We know that Buckaroo has his moments of angst, but the earnestness of most fan stories seems to tone down the Hong Kong Cavaliers.
DW: I liked Hoffman's crossover "Chasing Shadows" (the 'nose' knows).

Jeff's a good editor; the stories (even the ones I didn't care for) are of high quality, and the reproduction and proofreading is consistently good (not a given in these degenerate days). If you are into even one or two of these fandoms, buy these zines.[7]

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, Tim Lindsey

back cover of issue #2, Cathy Peters

inside front cover of issue #2, Cathy Peters

Banzine 2 was published in 1991 and is 179 pages long. This issue contains 16 pages of zine flyers.

The editorial notes that "there is little to no Blake's 7 material in here; I fear that this is probably a by-product of the sudden drop in fan interest." This "drop" fan interest was very likely due to The Blake's 7 Wars.

The author of "The Eldritch Horror," Brothers, commentd on some fan casting of this story in 1994:

Now I do like Dayfdd Kildragon in Hellhound, but he doesn't come across as Ray Doyleclone either, at least not to me. Lew Brody, on the other hand, is very like Bodie — and not always with Bodie"s good qualities. Cloning the actor and cloning the character are two very different things: I often do the former, but try never to do the latter. (And I don't believe anyone ever caught onto my "casting" Lewis Collins as a character in a DW story! — probably because he wasn't the least like Bodie. That was "The Eldritch Horror," appearing in BANZINE #2.) [8]